Short Summary

South Vietnamese Marines on Wednesday (3 May) fell back to a new defensive line north of the threatened city of Hue, as President Nguyen Van Thieu dismissed two generals involved in the loss of Quang Tri city last Monday.

Background: South Vietnamese Marines on Wednesday (3 May) fell back to a new defensive line north of the threatened city of Hue, as President Nguyen Van Thieu dismissed two generals involved in the loss of Quang Tri city last Monday.

The marines, after fighting a rearguard action out of shattered Quang Tri, had set up a defensive line 20 miles (32 kms) north of Hue. The line, known as Firebase Nancy, became the marine's foremost northern position, but U.S. military sources said the marine brigade had now pulled back to better natural defences behind a small waterway. They said the new line will be a better buttress for the large-scale assault on Hue expected in a few days.

In Saigon, an announcement from the presidential palace r???v???al???d the dismissal of Lieut???nant General Hoang Xuan Lam, Commander of the northernmost First Military Region, which includes Quang Tri and Hue. Also dismissed was Brigadier-General Vu Van Giai, Commander of the Third Army Division, the main army force on the northern front at the fall of Quang Tri. Please refer to Visnews Production Number 5484/72 serviced on 3 May, which is Film of General Hoang Xuan Lam.

With thousands of refugees crowding the streets of Hue, fire destroyed the city's new market building in the early hours of Wednesday. Rebuilt after the devastating 1968 Tet offensive, the market ???ad become a symbol of r???construction to the South Vietnamese. City officials said the cause of the fire had not been determined, but sabotage had not been ruled out. Refugees, meanwhile, are no longer stopping at Hue on their way south, because of the threat to the city by the North Vietnamese.